Note-taking and Note-making - leapsacademicskills

[Pages:18]Note-taking and

Note-making

Summer School 2014 Induction

Lindsay Jack, Edinburgh Law School

Session outline

Aim to cover: ? Overview of note-taking and note-making. ? Explain the importance of taking and making

notes ? and the difference between them! ? Identify some techniques to take/make effective

notes in lectures/tutorials/from reading. ? Consider why effective notes are key to academic

success. ? Summary of main points.

Overview

Note-taking and note-making are among many essential skills for success at university.

Building on your existing skills to start to move towards advanced level study.

Working on these skills helps you to get the most out of your studies and aids you in independent learning.

Overview

To take and make the most effective notes, you must first identify WHY you are taking or making notes. There can be many reasons, including:

To begin to explore a topic; To add to knowledge of a subject;

To prove a specific point;

To contextualise information;

To add to an argument;

To disprove an argument;

To learn how to do something; To answer a specific question...

And a million more reasons! (not including `because the lecturer told me to...!')

Note-taking

Taking notes in class. Class could be:

LECTURE

TUTORIAL

SEMINAR

WORKSHOP

PRACTICALS

GROUPWORK

FIELDWORK ...and many more!

INTERVIEW

In lectures:

Note-taking

? Don't be tempted to write down every single word.

? Do the background reading and look over general topic of lecture to understand context. This will help in deciding what to write down.

? Experiment! Some students prefer to type, others to write.

? Look over your notes as soon as you can after class to make sure you can follow up on any points.

? Reflect and review. Look over your notes regularly to ensure your note-taking is as useful as it can be.

Note-taking

In tutorials:

? Don't be tempted to write down every single word. ? Without doubt, do the reading/work for tutorials. ? Normally, no hiding in tutorials so prepare as well

you can. ? Look over your notes as soon as you can after class

to make sure you can follow up on any points. ? Reflect and review. Look over your notes regularly

to ensure your note-taking is as useful as it can be.

When good notes go bad...?

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